Created by Cyrus Webb for Shadow Play Entertainment in April 2006, Conversations Magazine is a colorful combination of the arts, entertainment, fashion, food and health. Get exclusive interviews, great tips and suggestions for the entire family. To see how you can be featured or to advertise with Conversations, contact Cyrus Webb at cawebb4@juno.com or 601.896.5616.

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Sunday, December 4, 2016

REVIEW: In 'Becoming Unfamous' Montell Jordan shares how he found the real life

In the world that we live in today so much is put on how many likes, shares and clicks we get instead of doing and being something of substance. No where is this more evident than in the celebrity culture where everyone wants to be famous, without any regard for what it takes, what you have to do and most importantly what you have to become.

In his deeply personal new book BECOMING UNFAMOUS (The Journey From How We Do It To How He Do It), singer/songwriter Montell Jordan shares with us his journey to music* what it was like to live the life so many dreamed about, and how he came to realize that the real life had nothing to do with what we had but who he belonged to.

Music was always something that drew Montell in, but he was told early on that there was another type of calling on his life. It was seen by others before he truly embraced it. Reflecting on his life, though, he shares this in the bok: "Talents can be taken away, gifts cannot. They come without repentance and cannot be revoked, even from the Lord himself...God gives us all gifts. The challenge is not only to identify what our gifts are but also to know what they are for."

When people say or hear the name Montell Jordan the song that automatically comes to mind is "This Is How We Do It", but that song was not all fun for the artist as he reveals in the book. As fame and success came his way so did the troubles that such a life bring with it. He writes: "I was soon served with a lawsuit claiming that I had stolen "This is How We Do It" and someone else was claiming to be the creator of the song. These people desired payment from the sales of my albums that they believed to be somewhere in the ballpark of $500,000 and they might be willing to settle for less money with the admission that I stole their song. Many might say, “If you’re right, why don’t you just fight it?” Well, that's absolutely the same thing we said. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. I knew there was no way possible to lose in a situation like this, and still somehow they managed to begin plotting and building a case against me. This was personal. My writer credibility and character was being challenged. I decided to fight."

People taking credit for his talent and trying to discredit him were not the only challenges that Jordan faced. His own actions caused him to do things that were the norm for those in his position in life but were against the vows he had made and what he knew to be right. In BECOMING FAMOUS we are able to see how it was through the darkest moments in his life that the man truly realized that he was meant for more than being known. He was set apart for another purpose, and he had to stop running from that and embrace it. That led to him not just confessing to his Creator but to the one he has promised to love, cherish and be faithful to.

"It was one thing to tell my deepest darkest secrets to God but to have to tell everything to the woman I loved was, in my mind, a fate worse than death," Jordan writes. "But in order for God to restore our marriage, our trust, and our family, she would have to know everything. Every single detail, fling, affair, close call, near miss, person, place and thing. Confessing my sin to God would result in forgiveness; confessing our sin to one another would result in healing." (REVIEW CONTINUES BELOW)

(NOTE: Listen to Jordan discuss his journey with Cyrus Webb below)

Today Jordan is showing others what it really means to live, and it has nothing to do with the spotlight. It has everything to do with realizing the calling on your life and to walk in that. Reflecting on the journey he says this: "I woke up January 1, 2011 and remember it as being the first time I had ever been truly free. I believe I experienced spiritual schizophrenia for so long that I lost my identity in the roles as husband, father, artist, songwriter, producer, businessman, sex symbol, and a bunch of other titles I don’t care to name. The sights and smells of that morning are so vivid to me, even to this day. Of all the different Montells I had to be, that day I woke up as only one person. I was the Montell that God loved the most. I cannot describe the peace that come along with that realization, but I assure you it is a feeling that you can’t pay for and you won’t experience outside of Christ. He provides a peace that passes all understanding. Only He can do that. I am living that peace, even today."

A book that is sure to inspire you towards your own personal greatness, BECOMING UNFAMOUS reminds us that being the person you were created to be is the way to truly shine.